Daniel 9:27 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
literally · noun, common masculine singular absolute
midst
וַחֲצִ֨יva.cha.Tzi
H2677
the half or middle · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him…
Daniel 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand t…
Mark 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth und…
Luke 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
Daniel 11:36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous thi…
Daniel 8:13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the dai…
Isaiah 10:22-23 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righ…
Jeremiah 32:40-42 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hea…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 9:20–end
We have here the answer that was immediately sent to Daniel's prayer, and it is a very memorable one, as it contains the most illustrious prediction of Christ and gospel-grace that is extant in all the Old Testament. If John Baptist was the morning-star, this was the day-break to the Sun of righteousness, the day-spring from on high. Here is,
I. The time when this answer was given.
1. It was while Daniel was at prayer. This he observed and laid a strong emphasis upon: While I was speaking (Dan 9:20), yea, while I was speaking in prayer (Dan 9:21), before he rose from his knees, and while there was yet more which he intended to say.
(1.) He mentions the two heads he chiefly insisted upon in p…
he shall confirm the covenant--Christ. The confirmation of the covenant is assigned to Him also elsewhere. Isa 42:6, "I will give thee for a covenant of the people" (that is, He in whom the covenant between Israel and God is personally expressed); compare Luk 22:20, "The new testament in My blood"; Mal 3:1, "the angel of the covenant"; Jer 31:31-34, describes the Messianic covenant in full. Contrast Dan 11:30, Dan 11:32, "forsake the covenant," "do wickedly against the covenant." The prophecy as to Messiah's confirming the covenant with many would comfort the faithful in Antiochus' times, who suffered partly from persecuting enemies, partly from false friends (Dan 11:33-35). Hence arises the…
And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate - This clause is remarkably obscure. כנף שקוצים משמם kenaph shikkutsim meshomem, "And upon the wing of abominations causing amazement." This is a literal translation of the place; but still there is no determinate sense. A Hebrews MS., written in the thirteenth century, has preserved a very remarkable reading here, which frees the place from all embarrassment. Instead of the above reading, this valuable MS. has ובהיכל יהיה שיקוץ ubeheychal yihyey shikkuts; that is, "And in the temple (of the Lord) there shall be abomination." This makes the passage plain, and is strictly conformable to the facts themselves, for the temple wa…
The Church Fathers
But what else did Daniel proclaim? He was prophesying not that which had already been done but that which would take place. What is the abomination of desolation that he proclaimed would take place when the Romans came, unless it is those things that now threaten? What is the oracle that we often mention as having been declared by the most high God, that the city will perish down to its foundation, when their own prince will have been killed at the hands of his fellow tribe members, unless it is that which we now see being fulfilled? And perhaps because it did not please them to keep the temple unstained by innocent blood, it pleases God to purify it by fire.
Then he says, "after sixty-two weeks, times shall be spun out and he shall set forth a covenant with many for one week. And in half of the week sacrifice and the drink offering shall be taken away and upon the Temple shall be an abomination of desolation." [Daniel 9:27] For after sixty-two weeks was fulfilled and after Christ has come and the Gospel has been preached in every place, times having been spun out, the end remains one week away, in which Elijah and Enoch shall be present and in its half the abomination of desolation, the Antichrist, shall appear who threatens desolation of the world. After he comes, sacrifice and drink offering, which now in every way is offered by the nations to God, shall be taken away.
This one will kill the two witnesses and precursors of Christ who herald his glorious advent from heaven, as he says through the prophet, "And I will give power to my two witnesses and they shall prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days wearing sack cloth." [Revelation 11:3] Just as also he spoke to Daniel, "And he shall establish a covenant with many for one week and it will be that in the half of the week he shall take away my sacrifice and drink offering," [Daniel 9:27] so that the one week may be shown as divided into two, after the two witnesses will have preached for three and a half years, the Antichrist will wage war against the saints the remainder of the week and will desolate all the world so that what was spoken may be fulfilled, "And they will give the abomination of desolation one thousand two hundred ninety days. Blessed is he who endures to Christ and reaches the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days!" [Daniel 12:11-12]
Dictionary and topics
Abomination — This word is used, (1.) To express the idea that the Egyptians considered themselves as defiled when they ate with strangers (Gen. 43:32). The Jews subsequently followed the same practice, holding it…
Abomination Of Desolation — Mentioned by our Saviour, (Matthew 24:15) as a sign of the approaching destruction of Jerusalem, with reference to (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) The prophecy referred ultimately to the destruction of…
Daniel — God is my judge, or judge of God. (1.) David’s second son, “born unto him in Hebron, of Abigail the Carmelitess” (1 Chr. 3:1). He is called also Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3). (2.) One of the four great…
Desolation, Abomination of — (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14; comp. Luke 21:20), is interpreted of the eagles, the standards of the Roman army, which were an abomination to the Jews. These standards, rising over the site of the temple,…
Gabriel — Champion of God, used as a proper name to designate the angel who was sent to Daniel (8:16) to explain the vision of the ram and the he-goat, and to communicate the prediction of the seventy weeks…
Week — From the beginning, time was divided into weeks, each consisting of six days of working and one of rest (Gen. 2:2, 3; 7:10; 8:10, 12; 29:28). The references to this division of days becomes…
Atonement, The · Foretold — Foretold
Daily Offering · Sacrificial — Sacrificial
Daily Sacrifice, The · The abolition of, foretold — The abolition of, foretold
Day · Prophetic — Prophetic
Temple, The Second · Desecration of, foretold — Desecration of, foretold
week
הַשָּׁב֜וּעַha.sha.Vu.a'
H7620
literally · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sacrifice
זֶ֣בַחZe.vach
H2077
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
oblation
וּמִנְחָ֗הu.min.Chah
H4503
a donation · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
cease
יַשְׁבִּ֣יתyash.Bit
H7673
to repose · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
overspreading
כְּנַ֤ףke.Naf
H3671
an edge or extremity · noun, common feminine singular construct
abominations
שִׁקּוּצִים֙shi.ku.Tzim
H8251
disgusting · noun, common masculine plural absolute
desolate
מְשֹׁמֵ֔םme.sho.Mem
H8074
to stun (or intransitively · verb, piel active participle, masculine singular absolute
consummation
כָּלָה֙ka.Lah
H3617
a completion · noun, common feminine singular absolute
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week,.... Sixty nine of the seventy weeks being accounted for, and the several events observed to be fulfilled in them; the angel proceeds to take notice of the remaining "one" week, or seven years, and what should be done within that space of time: a covenant should be confirmed with many; which is not to be understood of the Messiah's confirming the covenant of grace with many, or on account of all his people, by fulfilling the conditions of it, and by his blood and sacrifice, through which all the blessings of it come to them; for this is not for one week only, but for ever; but this is to be interpreted of the Roman people, spoken of in…
Daniel 9:27
27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
27. Et roborabit, [121] foedus multis, hebdomade una: et dimidia hebdomade quiescere faciet [122] sacrificium, et oblationem: et super extensionem [123] abominationem obstupescet, [124] et ad finem, et ad determinationem stillabit super stupentem.
The angel now returns to Christ. We have explained why he made mention of the coming slaughter; first, to shew the faithful that they had…
This verse contains four statements. - The first is: "He shall confirm the covenant to many for one week." Following the example of Theodotion, many (Hv., Hgstb., Aub., v. Leng., Hitzig, Hofm.) regard אחד שׁבוּע אח as the subject: one week shall confirm the covenant to many. But this poetic mode of expression is only admissible where the subject treated of in the statement of the speaker comes after the action, and therefore does not agree with בּרית הגבּיר, where the confirming of the covenant is not the work of time, but the deed of a definite person. To this is to be added the circumstance that the definitions of time in this verse are connected with those in Dan 9:25, and are analogous t…
The ruler (literally he): Most interpreters understand this pronoun as referring to the ruler of 9:26. Some think that it refers back to the anointed one of 9:25-26 and is thus a prophecy about Christ, meaning that Christ caused a covenant to prevail and removed the need for sacrifices and offerings by his death. However, the word behind make a treaty has the sense of imposing a covenant, evidently by the use of force or intimidation. Antiochus IV imposed a covenant with the people of Judea following the beginning of his rule in 175 BC (cp. 11:23; see 1 Maccabees 1:10-15). Other interpreters believe that this prophecy was fulfilled in the events of AD 66–70. For still others, it refers to a…
And he will strengthen a covenant for the princes for one week לָרַבִּים, for the princes, like “and all the officers of (רַבֵּי) the king,” in the Book of Jeremiah (39:13).
will strengthen Titus [will strengthen] a covenant with the princes of Israel.
for one week He will promise them the strengthening of a covenant and peace for seven years, but within the seven years, he will abrogate his covenant.
he will abolish sacrifice and meal-offering This is what he says in the first vision (8: 26): “and in tranquility he will destroy many.” Through a covenant of tranquility, he will destroy them.
and on high, among abominations will be the dumb one This is a pejorative for pagan deities. i.e.…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Weeks · A space of seven years sometimes so called — A space of seven years sometimes so called
Years · Divided into: Weeks — Divided into: Weeks
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
